Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal

What Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal does

Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal (SERNIC) is the national criminal investigation service of Mozambique, constituted as a public police entity with administrative, technical, and tactical autonomy, operating under the legal framework of Law n.º 5/2025 of June 13, 2025, and under the superintendence of the Procurador-Geral da República (PGR). Its statutory mandate is to assist judicial authorities in criminal proceedings and to combat crime categories including homicide, kidnapping, robbery, drug trafficking, organized crime, cybercrime, money laundering, and terrorism. SERNIC delivers services through a national headquarters in Maputo and 11 provincial directorates covering all of Mozambique's provinces, supported by citizen-facing channels including the Denúncia crime-reporting hotline and the public Lista de Procurados (Wanted Persons) database.

The organization operates three principal service lines: criminal investigation and case support to judicial authorities, forensic evidence analysis via the newly inaugurated DNA Forensics Laboratory (August 8, 2025), and public-facing crime reporting and wanted-persons dissemination. Capacity-building partnerships with UNODC, the Government of Italy, UNDP/PNUD, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the domestic GCCCOT support specialized training in organized and transnational crime, counter-terrorism, anti-money laundering, and digital crime investigation. The 2025-2033 Strategic Plan (PESERNIC) frames institutional priorities around organized and transnational crime, with FATF evaluation preparation signaling international compliance ambition.

SERNIC has no commercial revenue model. It is funded through state budget allocations and international cooperation grants, with €350,000 from the Government of Italy (via UNODC) in February 2026 as the most recently disclosed external capital inflow. The organization does not sell services, charge fees, or generate operating revenue; all activity is mission-driven public safety work, and "customers" are defined as judicial authorities and citizens rather than paying clients.

Name

Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal

Legal name

Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal

Website

https://sernic.gov.mz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SERNIC is Mozambique's national criminal investigation service, operating under the Procuradoria-Geral da República with provincial directorates in all 11 provinces. It assists judicial authorities through criminal investigation, a newly inaugurated DNA Forensics Laboratory, and citizen crime-reporting channels, funded entirely by state budget and international donor grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Law Enforcement Services

NAICS

Police Protection (92212), Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAIAFAH

Court Services & Operations (Clerks, Records, Jury, Interpreters)

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/Justice System (Courts, Prosecution & Corrections)

SECONDARYBPAIABAF

State/Provincial Corrections, Probation & Parole Administration

Business & Public Services/Public Sector & Government Administration/State/Provincial & Regional Government Administration

Keywords

• Criminal investigation services
• Forensic DNA analysis
• Public law enforcement
• Crime reporting system
• Counter-narcotics operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Maputo

HQ country

Mozambique

HQ region

Africa

Offices11 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SERNIC is Mozambique's national criminal investigation service that conducts criminal investigations at the request of judicial authorities, supports the Procuradoria-Geral da República, and operates forensic, intelligence, and counter-narcotics functions. It delivers citizen-facing services including a public crime reporting system (Denúncia) and a published wanted persons list, and it operates a DNA forensics laboratory through its National Directorate of Criminalistics.

Product overview

SERNIC is a public police service for criminal investigation with administrative, technical, and tactical autonomy. It operates under the supervision of the Attorney General and assists judicial authorities in criminal proceedings. The service maintains provincial directorates across Mozambique and provides forensic analysis through its DNA laboratory, operates a crime reporting system for citizens, and maintains a wanted persons database. The organization functions through its Plano Estratégico PESERNIC 2025-2033, focusing on combating organized and transnational crime.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Laboratório de ADN Forense (DNA Forensics Laboratory) Forensic DNA analysis laboratory under SERNIC's National Directorate of Criminalistics that supports criminal investigations with forensic evidence for judicial authorities in Mozambique.
• Sistema de Denúncias (Crime Reporting System) Public-facing digital crime reporting service that allows Mozambican citizens to submit crime reports to SERNIC.
• Lista de Procurados (Wanted Persons List) Publicly published list of wanted persons maintained by SERNIC, allowing citizens to view individuals being sought by the agency.
• Provincial Criminal Investigation Directorates Regional criminal investigation services delivered through SERNIC's provincial directorates across Mozambique's provinces, providing locally delivered investigative and reporting services to judicial authorities and citizens.

Quantifiable outcome

• 573kg of cocaine seized hidden in construction materials at Port of Maputo
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 February 2026UNODC coordinates technical cooperation with Italian authorities to strengthen SERNIC's capacity in combating organized crime and drug trafficking. The partnership includes specialized training, modern technological equipment for forensic identification, and institutional capacity building in digital crime investigation.
• Gabinete Central de Combate ao Crime Organizado e Transnacional (GCCCOT)coreTechnology or Integration · 7 October 2025Central Office for Combating Organized and Transnational Crime collaborates with SERNIC on specialized training programs for criminal investigators, providing expert instructors and technical guidance on organized crime and terrorism investigation.
• Administração Nacional de Áreas de Conservação (ANAC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 August 2025National Administration of Conservation Areas collaborated with SERNIC in Tete province for the detention of an ivory trafficking suspect, contributing to wildlife crime enforcement.
• United States of AmericaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025Technical assistance mission from the United States providing specialized support in preparing key sectors for FATF (Financial Action Task Force) Onsite Visit evaluation, strengthening institutional capacity in anti-money laundering investigations.
• United KingdomminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 August 2025Technical assistance from the UK alongside the US mission, focused on FATF evaluation preparation and sharing best practices for financial crime investigation and compliance.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Procuradoria-Geral da República (PGR Mozambique): Mozambique's Attorney General's Office, which provides SERNIC's statutory superintendence and is the primary recipient of SERNIC's investigative outputs for prosecution—forming the upstream institutional peer within the criminal justice chain.
• Polícia Judiciária (Portugal): Portugal's criminal investigation police force, which—like SERNIC—operates as a specialized police service assisting judicial authorities in criminal proceedings, with a similar autonomous, technically-focused mandate rooted in shared Portuguese legal tradition.
• Direção de Investigação Criminal em Moçambique (PIC predecessor bodies): Predecessor and historical Mozambican criminal investigation institutions, providing direct precedent for the legal and operational model SERNIC adopted under Law n.º 2/2017 and its 2025 revision.
• Gabinete Central de Combate ao Crime Organizado e Transnacional (GCCCOT): Mozambique's Central Office for Combating Organized and Transnational Crime; directly collaborates with SERNIC on investigator training and shares overlapping mandate scope across organized crime and terrorism.

Broad incumbents

• Interpol: Global intergovernmental organization facilitating cross-border criminal investigation cooperation; SERNIC engages Interpol channels for transnational cases involving drug trafficking and organized crime that fall within its mandate.
• National Crime Agency (UK): UK's lead agency against serious and organized crime; currently providing technical assistance to SERNIC for FATF Onsite Visit preparation and shares the multi-domain crime investigation (organized, financial, cyber) mandate structure.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): US federal investigative agency providing FATF-related technical assistance to Mozambique; comparable as a benchmark institution combining criminal investigation, forensic science, and federal-level coordination functions.

Others

• UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime): UN agency currently partnering with SERNIC (€350,000 Italian-funded grant) to deliver capacity building in organized crime, drug trafficking forensics, and digital crime investigation—functioning as both a capability supplier and a strategic ecosystem participant.

Regional players

• Kenya's Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI): Kenya's national criminal investigation agency, operating in a similar African developing-economy context with comparable mandate areas including forensics, organized crime, and terrorism; useful peer for benchmarking institutional capacity.
• South African Police Service - Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI / Hawks): South Africa's specialized priority-crimes investigation unit; serves the same Southern African regional context as SERNIC and addresses overlapping crime categories including organized crime, corruption, and serious commercial offenses.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/172YL7HbcZ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sernicmoz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Serviço Nacional de Investigação Criminal